BIXI begins installing bike-sharing stations across Toronto

Torontonians are just a week away from having a fully operational bike sharing system.

The Public Bike System Company has started the gradual deployment of Bixi stations across Toronto. The plan is to install 10 to 15 stations per day, with eighty stations housing 1,000 bikes, ready for the official service launch on May 3. The first station will go in at Jarvis and Carlton streets Tuesday morning, but will not be operational until after the launch.

Bixi – a contraction of the words “bike” and “taxi” – is the first large-scale bike sharing system in North America and was launched in Montreal in May 2009. The city now has 400 stations that provide access to 5,000 bikes. The company has also launched a similar service in London and Melbourne.

The service will be available for use 24 hours a day, all year long. Cyclists can pick up a bike at one station, and return it to any of the others.

Torontonians who want to use the service will have a few different payment options. An annual subscription will cost $95 and a 30-day subscription will set you back $40. Alternatively, you can purchase 72 hour access for $12 and 24 hour access for $5.

The Bixi system was created primarily for frequent, short-time use of bicycles, and any single usage that lasts more than 30 minutes will be subject to additional fees that increase as time goes on.

During the week-long construction process, parking will be prohibited in certain areas to allow for the installations. The company has not yet released a comprehensive list of planned Toronto locations. Stay tuned to find out if a Bixi station is coming to a street corner near you.

The video below, posted to YouTube Tuesday morning, shows the partial installation of the first Bixi Toronto station.